That’s a poor joke, but a poor joke is exactly what many soccer fans believe Blackburn Rovers FC has become since it was bought by Venky’s, a chicken-processing company from India.

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The club, which is 18th in the Championship – the second tier of English soccer after the Premier League – this week published an all-too familiar headline on its website: “Managerial Changes Announced.”

“Blackburn Rovers FC can confirm that Michael Appleton has been relieved of his duties as manager along with assistant manager Ashley Westwood, first team coach Darren Moore and head of senior recruitment Luke Dowling,” the statement said.

Appleton was manager for only 67 days and 15 matches. His predecessor Henning Berg lasted just 57 days and 10 matches before the Rao family, which controls Pune-based Venky’s, gave him the chop. A third manager, Steve Kean, quit in September.

In addition to Appleton, Berg and Kean, the team has this season been managed by Eric Black and Gary Bowyer in caretaker roles. Bowyer is back as caretaker manager after Appleton’s dismissal.

Appleton’s short reign featured four wins, five draws and six losses, a run of results that saw Blackburn Rovers drop from 13th to 18th in the table, four points above the relegation zone.

Fans weren’t happy with Appleton’s performance.

Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

A Burnley football club fan showed an Indian flag taunting Blackburn Rovers, its archrival, in Blackburn, England, March 17.

“Appleton talked a good game and seemed a sensible bloke, but the performances and results were a disaster,” one commenter said on the website of local newspaper, the Lancashire Telegraph.

But that hasn’t let the club’s Indian owners off the hook.

“News of Michael Appleton’s sacking ought to come as a surprise, but sadly it does not. This is just the latest in a long line of incomprehensible and ill-thought out decisions that go back to the very start of the Venky’s ownership of Blackburn Rovers,” Wayne Wild, co-chairman of supporters group Rovers Trust, said in a statement.

“The owners have to face up to the fact they are entirely responsible for the situation we find ourselves in with a second successive relegation a distinct possibility,” he added.

Venky’s couldn’t be reached for comment.

Since taking over the club in November 2010, the owners have failed to endear themselves to the fans at Ewood Park. After sacking the experienced Sam Allardyce, Venky’s stuck with Kean for nearly two years despite the manager being deeply unpopular among fans. Kean was in charge when Blackburn Rovers was relegated from the Premier League last season.

Fans have also been critical of some of the owner’s publicity campaigns, such as this advertisement featuring players scoffing on fried chicken in the dressing room. For them, Blackburn Rovers has fallen a long way from the glory days of winning the Premier League nearly two decades ago.

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